Abdeslam arrest could activate other terror cells: minister

Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon warned on Monday in the wake of the arrest of Paris terrorism suspect Salah Abdeslam last week that dismantling one terrorist cell could activate another.

Jambon told broadcaster RTL that Belgium’s terror alert level remains on 3 (the second highest) because a threat remains likely and imminent.

“It is clear that the arrest of Abdeslam is a step forward in the fight against terrorism. But we cannot say that the problem has been solved. The IS network is still active in Europe, in France and Belgium,” Jambon said.

He added that he based this comments on events in Verviers, Belgium in January 2015, when police raided houses in a bid to dismantle a terrorist cell linked to the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris.

Meanwhile Sven Mary, Abdeslam’s laywer, told Belgian Radio 1 that his client would be extradited to France.

“Let me be clear: There is no reason to suspect that he [Abdeslam] will not be sent to France. The information that he has is incredibly valuable to the investigation.”

It is up to the courts to decide when Abdeslam will leave for France, added the lawyer. Other media have suggested that Abdeslam would give information about terror cells in order to get a reduction of his sentence. Mary had told POLITICO on Saturday that his client would resist extradition “because there is first a Belgian case that needs to be addressed.”